Welcome to our Video and Podcast Series - 'SCORE - The Best Kept Secret'

SCORE - The Best Kept Secret

Berks and Schuylkill SCORE supports business development in Berks and Schuylkill counties through Free Mentoring & Low Cost Workshops.

SCORE mentors (business owners, managers, executives, professionals) volunteer their time and knowledge so you can accomplish your business goals.SCORE is ready to assist you with every stage of your business’s life from Startup to Growth to Preparing to Sell.SCORE is a Resource Partner of the U.S. Small Business Administration.SCORE provides free confidential mentoring for those interested in starting a business and those established in a business or nonprofit which may need assistance in growth.

We also provide training on how to start a business, business plans, finances, social media, management and sales.Visit our website for more information on how we can help your business.

Berks Schuylkill SCORE Series

SCORE Mentors help you be successful. Johanny Cepeda-Freyitz owner of ‘Mi Casa Su Casa” says SCORE became a part of her business after she already opened her restaurant. Her restaurant was open for several years when the economy tanked and she needed help and ideas to stay alive and continue to grow. She says, “What I remember most about SCORE is they were there, they listened and they

A Retired Generation Kickstarting a Future Generation City Councilwoman Donna Reed speaks about her history with SCORE and the value this organization has brought to Berks County. She leveraged that knowledge and history and brought SCORE to the table to help kickstart the amazing Reading Police Youth Academy! "We would not be where we are at today with the Academy without SCORE"."- Donna Reed

Berks Schuylkill SCORE Kickstarting the Reading Police Youth Academy Steve Davis of SCORE talks to Lt. Andrew Winters of the Reading Police Department about the success of the Reading Police Youth Academy. SCORE was instrumental in the startup of this Academy, between organization and logistics, the Reading Police Youth Academy is a huge success. Find out more about this amazing project!

Karen Shiffert Invents a Bed Sled and SCORE Helps Her Take It To Market Necessity Is The Mother Of Invention. The necessity is the ability to move a bedridden person and the invention is the Tuxedo Bed Sled. Karen Shiffert is the owner of Caregivers Aide, LLC. Her husband suffered from Parkinson’s Disease and passed away about 3 years ago. Karen is a seamstress and fashioned a sort of sled

Stop working IN Your business and start working ON your business.. Meet Kelly Daughtry Kelly Daughtry wanted to expand her cleaning business but couldn’t figure out the next move. A friend told her about SCORE and she gave them a call. She made more connections through SCORE, worked with mentors and attended a 3-week class. Four years later Kelly’s Kleaning morphed from a Proprietorship

Berks Schuylkill SCORE | Meet Lori Williams! Alyse Mitten talks to Lori Williams about her very cool product - BREW BUTTN - a beverage identification device; beverage rating device; beverage promotional or advertising device. Lori shares how SCORE helped her from the original concept to manufacturing, how to handle sales and get this to market! Listen to more of our story on SCORE, the

Berks Schuylkill SCORE | Meet Jennifer Schmehl Meet Jennifer Schmehl owner with her husband of a CSA farm, Oak Nut Farm. Jennifer was introduced to SCORE at a child’s birthday party, now that’s networking! Jennifer followed up on the contact and was glad she did. Hear Jennifer’s story about QuickBooks, cyber counseling and CSA. Yes, that sounds like an odd set of connections. Small

Berks Schuylkill SCORE | Meet Gilbert Nazario Meet Gilbert Nazario owner of Clean Floors and More a commercial cleaning business. Gilbert was introduced to SCORE at a SBDC networking event. At the same time Gilbert was looking to start his own cleaning business. Hear Gilbert’s story about taking advantage of the free mentoring and where this has led. Gilbert has a good grasp of all the

Berks Schuylkill SCORE | Meet Karen Marsdale SCORE was very excited to speak with Karen Marsdale from the Greater Reading Chamber & Economic Development Corporation. Did you know that SCORE has been a partner of the Greater Reading Chamber & Economic Development Corporation for over 20 years? In this show, Karen shares her support and gratitude for Berks best kept secret in the

Berks Schuylkill SCORE | Meet James Guischard Check out this episode of “SCORE, The Best Kept Secret” where Jobany speaks with James Guischard, a young entrepreneur and RACC student who was looking to learn more about economic development. He learned about SCORE and how they host several classes at RACC regarding business ownership. As a current Albright College student and

Berks Schuylkill SCORE | Meet Harry Crosswell Harry Crosswell is a retired lawyer from Williamson Freeberg & Jones and now serves as a mentor for entrepreneurs at SCORE. He says all you really need is an idea… that’s enough to connect with a mentor at SCORE. Harry is always impressed with the preparation of entrepreneurs. As a mentor Harry says he is always “conscious of the fact

Berks Schuylkill SCORE | Meet JT Herber Berks Schuylkill SCORE Meet JT Herber an attorney and why he volunteers with SCORE. JT’s story, like all stories has a unique perspective. JT was introduced to SCORE as a client for a local non-profit. JT was impressed, decided to join SCORE and become a volunteer, hear his story. JT is a very well rounded individual and you can also hear

Berks Schuylkill SCORE | Meet Laura Hoppes with Lion Launch What is Lion Launch? Let’s find out more with Laura Hoppes, Lion Launch Coordinator. Laura shared with us about this brand new entrepreneurial initiative being held at the Schuylkill Campus of Penn State. The Program is open to the community as well as Penn State students and staff. The first phase of Lion Launch is a ten-week

Meet Mary Jo Moss, Program Manager of Youth Entrepreneur Academy and Collin Felty Meet Mary Jo Moss, Program Manager of YEA, Youth Entrepreneur Academy and Collin Felty a YEA graduate. YEA is a national program whose outcome is to create CEOs of real businesses. Hear how Mary Jo has grown YEA in Schuylkill County, the range of ages of the students, and most importantly how YEA

Berks Schuylkill SCORE | Meet Joe HammondBerks Schuylkill SCORE | Meet Joe Hammond Joe Hammond, Business Development Officer with Thompson VistBank, shared with us how he, personally, benefits from helping others through mentoring. Joe finds that through mentoring businesses and organizations it’s all about managing risks. The nice thing with being mentored by SCORE is that a business or

Berks Schuylkill SCORE | Meet Bob Carl Berks Schuylkill SCORE | Meet Bob Carl Bob Carl, President and CEO of Schuylkill Chamber of Commerce, shares in this podcast how Berks SCORE filled a need for the Chamber by creating a Schuylkill Branch of SCORE in 2011. We continue to work together in helping businesses and nonprofit organizations. What is also taking off is the opportunities to train

Berks Schuylkill SCORE | Meet Matt Smith SCORE Berks Schuylkill SCORE | Meet Matt Smith SCORE Meet Matt Smith owner of Skyview Productions, a drone based video company. This all started with a phone call from a fireworks company asking Matt to video their upcoming fireworks show. Growing up Matt always had an interest in remote controlled airplanes and photography. When drones came out Matt

Berks Schuylkill SCORE Meet Jan Press – a small business owner and a SCORE Mentor Berks Schuylkill SCORE Meet Jan Press – a small business owner and a SCORE Mentor Jan Press learned about SCORE 15 years ago when her family business was struggling. Jan sought advice from SCORE mentors and found them to be very helpful. Five years ago Jan became a Quick Book Pros Advisor and started her own

Berks Schuylkill SCORE Meet Daniel LawsBerks Schuylkill SCORE Meet Daniel Laws Daniel Laws says, “A lot of times as a small business owner you find a lot of times you are on an island”. SCORE is an asset here in Reading I used to maximize our resources. SCORE mentors are great when you need to bounce ideas off someone, and help brainstorm and walk through daily challenges. How easy is it to

The Story of Anita’s Biscotti The Story of Anita’s Biscotti Anita Hoch-Skrocki talks about her small business journey. Anita started baking pastries for local cafés about 15 years ago. One of her clients asked her if shoe could make biscotti. Anita never did that before bit took a stab at it anyway. Today Anita sells her biscotti all over the country through her website

Berks Schuylkill SCORE | Meet Elizabeth Sichinga Berks Schuylkill SCORE | Meet Elizabeth Sichinga In my interview with Elizabeth Sichinga with African Global Super Center we learn how her small business, which focuses on opening trade between the United States and Africa, has been able to utilize SCORE over the years to build her business. Based out of Reading, Pennsylvania, Elizabeth brings

Berks Schuylkill SCORE | Meet David Nazario Berks Schuylkill SCORE | Meet David Nazario What an interesting interview with David Nazario, owner of Scared of a Day Job. David is a speaker, writer, and entrepreneur who is a great example of the new generation of business owners who can work pretty much anywhere. David has had the opportunity to teach in New York as well as in the Berks County

Berks Schuylkill SCORE | Meet Jennifer BednezBerks Schuylkill SCORE | Meet Jennifer Bednez In our interview with Jennifer Bednez with Sweet Surprises we discover how SCORE helps her to go from corporate America to a successful owner and entrepreneur. When Jennifer managed herself out of her job after 14 years, she found herself at home and depressed. On an introduction with the owner

Berks Schuylkill SCORE Meet Steve Davis Steve Davis is a SCORE mentor who talks about how he got involved with the organization. His neighbor Dave Verrill is the local chapter president and he kept trying to convince Steve to join SCORE. After numerous attempts, Dave finally got Steve to join! After joining SCORE Steve says he appreciates the value of the organization because it helped him

Berks Schuylkill SCORE Meet Megan Zettlemoyer Full of energy and enthusiasm, Megan Zettlemoyer shared her journey as a graphic designer who explored letterpress printing. After really enjoying this printing method that’s been around for hundreds of years, she contacted SCORE about starting a new business. After working in a small room at home, she decided to take the leap and open her own

Berks Schuylkill SCORE Meet Steve Bobick Steve Bobick has been a counselor at SCORE for 5 years. He’s retired from a consulting business and needed something to keep busy when he found the SCORE opportunity. He combines his love for meeting new people with his enthusiasm for new business ideas at SCORE. He enjoys the lasting relationships that have developed over the years. Steve Bobick

The Power Of Collaboration What does SCORE and the Greater Reading Chamber of Commerce and Industry have in common? A lot! Gail Landis, Vice President of Government & Community Relations says, “We work together to help business start-ups, early stage and second stage existing businesses.” Right now, the best way to explain what is happening with businesses these days is to say

Challenges Small Business Face When asked, what is the biggest challenge small business owners have?, Lori Donofrio-Galley, Executive Director for the Northeast Chamber of Commerce says, “There are many, but the number one challenge is time management.” Small business owners need to wear many hats when running a business. Not only do they have to pull up their sleeves and get involved with

Knowledge Is Power …. Meet Russ Hoke Russ Hoke (Mr Education) Dir of Education Services in addition to mentorship and counseling SCORE has an education component We us RACC facilities and there is a minimal registration fee for the classes. We also conduct ‘Starting A Small Business Boot Camp’ at Penn State Schuylkill Campus There are no ‘typical’ students. We have

SCORE your free personal business coach Do you have an idea to start a business? Need someone to listen to your idea? Your Best Kept Secret is SCORE. SCORE, Counselors to America’s Small Business, provide free, confidential guidance and mentorship. As Dave Verrill, President of Berks|Schuylkill SCORE shares in this interview, “We are a group of dedicated listeners who will mentor